It has a 100hz display. 100hz display radios were last seen on ham radios in the 80's thats how crap it is. Most radios today have a 10hz display and have very good accuracy. The tuning resolution on this radio will also be poor compared to a cheap DDS ham radio. Even the cheapest mobile radios like the FT857 comes TCXO which basically means that a radio like FT857 will have much better stability. All the low end cheap ham radios models have better receivers and stability than this CB junk.

The worst thing about this radio and models like it is that they cause a lot of splatter. Why any ham would buy this junk today and think they buying something good is beyond me. All I cant say is keep this splattering junk off the ham bands.

Ken--You'll note that in his posts, Zenki never--even when prompted--gives a callsign. (The other guy who does this is "OnAir.") I am always skeptical of anonymous posts--people can say whatever they want behind the cloak of anonymity. W8JI though, IS an expert and well-respected throughout the ham community.

I have a Magnum 257 HP as one of many radios. I haven't used it much but I like it--but I bought it knowing its limitations, and it's not my only rig. I bought it for a radio to use sitting out in the backyard in the summer. If you don't have a rig yet, I'd get a multiband ham radio, either new or used. It will be a better radio and much more versatile.

I have one of these radios also. I'd say the performance is just what you would expect from a $200 radio. For me it fills a need in a vehicle that is only used occasionally, so price was the main deciding factor when it was purchased.

It has a 100hz display. 100hz display radios were last seen on ham radios in the 80's thats how crap it is. Most radios today have a 10hz display and have very good accuracy. The tuning resolution on this radio will also be poor compared to a cheap DDS ham radio. Even the cheapest mobile radios like the FT857 comes TCXO which basically means that a radio like FT857 will have much better stability. All the low end cheap ham radios models have better receivers and stability than this CB junk.

The worst thing about this radio and models like it is that they cause a lot of splatter. Why any ham would buy this junk today and think they buying something good is beyond me. All I cant say is keep this splattering junk off the ham bands.

Unless they completely gut the HTX-10 and replace all of the internals, which I'm sure they haven't....you're very wrong on all accounts.

EDIT: In my humble non-technical opinion. All I know is...I will NOT be removing my perfectly good HTX from the ham bands

The HTX-10 is a 25 watt PEP rating, and uses two 2SC1969 SSB output transistors with actual ratings for linear PA service.

Now we have the "same radio", sold as an illegal CB radio, suddenly rated at 80 watts. It uses a transistor that has no traceable SSB specs in data sheets and has an odd custom house number. The data sheets for the PA device in the Magnum are nonsense.

I equated the two because they use the same case, knobs/buttons, displays, etc (different color I know). I'm not technical enough to be able to look at schematics and not want to pass out...so thank you for setting me straight!

I equated the two because they use the same case, knobs/buttons, displays, etc (different color I know). I'm not technical enough to be able to look at schematics and not want to pass out...so thank you for setting me straight!

This is how the Ham bands will eventually be ruined or damaged significantly. We start to believe what people selling illegal radios tell us.

I equated the two because they use the same case, knobs/buttons, displays, etc (different color I know). I'm not technical enough to be able to look at schematics and not want to pass out...so thank you for setting me straight!

This is how the Ham bands will eventually be ruined or damaged significantly. We start to believe what people selling illegal radios tell us.

Well for the record...I made those terrible assumptions all on my own, based entirely on what Google images was showing me.

Does the freq display say 28.400 when you are actually on 28.400.000 ?

Does the freq display say 28.400 when you are actually on 28.399.674 ?

Best I have seen is it does NOT have a 100 Hz display. Perhaps having a 100 Hz display would make the freq display inaccuracy very OBVIOUS.

YES, it is possible for a good radio to say 28.400 when its actually tuned in on 28.400 (even though there is not a hundreth or ten Hz display digit). When I have a local net on 28.400 , can I dial up 28.400 on the radio's display and hear stations natural sounding and tuned in properly or will they sound 300 or 400 Hz off freq like donald duck?

Hello WB9YCJ, while I am not familiar with the Magnum radio. I did have a while back a Yaesu FRG-7000 which was Yaesu's firest digital readout receiver. Like the radio you are asking about it read to 6 places 28.400 with an accuracy of +/- one digit. so if you set if for 28.400 it could read 28.401 or 28.399 in its worst case. It was a great receiver triple conversion and such. I used my transmitter to set the frequency when operating. I checked the accuracy of the receiver with a frequency counter that read to 9 digits. At 72.000 (40 meters the frequency I used most) the receivers actual frequency as read on the counter was 72.0001020. Pretty accurate I would say. I have found that most digital counters used on radio equipment are very accurate to the number of places it reads, unless there is a malfunction in the counter circuit. If you are interested in checking your frequency accuracy get hold of an accurate counter and check it. The other way is to make a contact on 10 meters and ask the frequency they are reading you at. I did this many times with my original set up, and just about everyone I talked to gave me a check to 8 places. I would not worry to much about the readout accuracy, because when you hear someone calling you will zero beat them and return the call. If you are calling the person hearing you will zero beat your frequency. The only time I would worry is if your frequency was so far off the it caused you to operate outside the band limits, but from your post it sounds like you are just looking to see how accurate you frequency is.

Having a callsign does not change the radios TX IMD performance! You can have have your skepticism for anything in life, unfortunately your skepticism does not make your MAGNUM radio any better than it is. The point is that when you measure any of the CB regardless of what brand it is,(most come from the same factory) they are terrible performing transmitters on the ham bands. Whats worst is that these same companies who want to promote these radios as legal ham radios have no hesitation selling these radios with the ham bands enabled in ASIA and the Pacific. Next time you speak to a VK, ZL VR, HS hams ask them what 10 and 12 meters sounds like during the day! Its jammed with crud and illegal pirate stations using these radios right from 24mhz to 30 mhz. Unfortunately it is your non ethical attitude in buying this junk that is contributing directly to destroying 10 and 12 meters. This is before we even start talking about the raspy splatter that is ruining other hams enjoyment of the bands like 10 meters. If you enjoy crapping in your own house, and at the same time destroying other peoples enjoyment of the hobby just to make your favorite CB toy look good so be it, we know where you stand!

Ken--You'll note that in his posts, Zenki never--even when prompted--gives a callsign. (The other guy who does this is "OnAir.") I am always skeptical of anonymous posts--people can say whatever they want behind the cloak of anonymity. W8JI though, IS an expert and well-respected throughout the ham community.

I have a Magnum 257 HP as one of many radios. I haven't used it much but I like it--but I bought it knowing its limitations, and it's not my only rig. I bought it for a radio to use sitting out in the backyard in the summer. If you don't have a rig yet, I'd get a multiband ham radio, either new or used. It will be a better radio and much more versatile.

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